Citizens’ Police Complaint Board proposes several changes to promote trust, accountability between police, community
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Citizens’ Police Complaint Board was formed 30 years ago in an effort to promote trust and accountability between police and the community. In a meeting Wednesday, members announced four key updates they plan to implement but said more would likely come.
The first change focuses on the time frame to file a complaint against an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer. In the past there was a 60-day window, now anyone has up to 120 days to issue a complaint for an informal hearing process. This is the only change that must be approved by the council before moving forward.
A person who files a complaint will now be allowed two minutes to have a voice in the process, before they were not able to speak at all.
The board is also working to make sure names and badge numbers of any officer involved in a complaint are made public.
The final change is adding a detective to investigate cases elusively for the complaint board.
The updates are not final, however the board’s president Duane Ingram said they are close to implementing them.
“As we are currently in a season of unrest not only in our community but around our country and our cries have rang out around the world, it is only fitting and appropriate that we take this as a moment to take a step back and look at our policies and procedures,” he said.
